I haven't done a brake job since the 1980s. My last one was probably a drum brake job on a GM vehicle. Those were fun! Anyway...

My 1999 M-B C230 needs new rear brakes--badly. From what I gather, ceramic is the way to go for the pads. I'd rather replace the rotors than try getting by with having them turned by some auto parts store guy.

Can anyone help me narrow down the choices? Good brands, things to look for, things to avoid--that sort of thing? The difference in prices even among parts that seem identical in quality and composition (from looking at descriptions) is shocking.

I priced out a set of genuine rear pads and genuine rear rotors from that site. With shipping, it is only $170. On most European cars, you usually replace the rotors and pads together.

If the original equipment parts are reasonably priced, which they usually are if you purchase from a dealership that sells parts online, then I always go with them since they are guaranteed to work and deliver predictable performance.

Ceramic pads that you find in stores are best suited for cars that were never high-performance to begin with. I have read that installing ceramic pads on higher performance European cars, are a hit/miss. Ceramic pads from major brands are usually tuned for super long life, low dust and low performance. I would instead, rather install pads that were designed specifically for the vehicle and will deliver excellent stopping performance.

Just remember that the Pagid, Meyle, Textar, etc "german" brands are really just the Raybestos, Centric, Bendix, etc of the German market. When you buy those german pads from worldpac, they are sometimes the aftermarket version of the OE supplier's brake product-- no guarantees that it'll function identically to the Genuine Mercedes product. I think a lot of people get confused when they see a Pagid or Textar product at worldpac and believe that it is the identical dealer product in a different box-- not always the case.

I've had good luck with both Hawk and Akebono for pads. Brembo for rotors (stock replacement...nothing fancy...) - with the mileage and the typical MB specifications for minimum rotor thickness, I would simply replace the rotors vs. trying to turn them...

And the ceramic Akebonos on both Volvos are great for rotor wear (none), dust (none) and longevity. My wife's XC has nearly 50K on the pads - and they are still over 50% thickness. There was no loss in braking performance either...they cost a bit more, but are worth it.

It depends on how important "Genuine OEM" or "German Engineering" are to you.

There are lots of brake pads that give you same or even better performance than the Mercedes OEM pads rotor for less, much less. Those high performance street pads with FF to GG ratings are usually sufficient unless you track your car, and if you do track your car, the OEM Mercedes pads probably aren't sufficient anyways.

Ill second Astro on the Akebono pads and the brembo direct replacements. Just did the front of the XC for $200, including new ATE hoses and a tube of ATE lube. Ive also had good luck with ATE premium one rotors and heard good things about Zimmerman rotors. Not the area you want to go cheap on . Check out FCPGroton.com.